Our Church History

OUR CHURCH HISTORY

If You Don’t Where you come from;

you wont know where you are going

Church History

1870-2018

Little Zion Baptist Church of Orange County, Virginia has reached a remarkable 145 years of recorded service. Prior to the 1870, church membership in this vicinity was interracial. Our founding fathers worshipped in the Zion Baptist Church, which still stands less than two miles from us, near the Madison Run area. We worship together on Easter and Thanksgiving and whenever we needed each other in service.

Let us humbly give thanks for the men and women who conceived the idea of a Little Zion and persistently worked to make their dreams of a place to worship come true. Their footprints are on the sands of time, for they have left us a heritage of which we are not only proud but oh so grateful. One pastor in the more recent history was Rev. W.L. Anderson. The next pastor was Rev. James Davis. From 1946 to 1960, the church was served by Rev. James E. Crump and Rev. Marshall Williams served as his assistant.

From 1960 to 1964 we were without a pastor. During this time our Official Board was instrumental in keeping the congregation together until we secured the services of Rev. Morris N. Smith, of Washington, D.C. Rev. Morris N. Smith resigned in 1973. Again the Official Board led the congregation until Rev. Walter H. Johnson was installed on June 22, 1975. Rev. Johnson had the distinction of being the youngest minister to serve our congregation.

Rev. Walter H. Johnson left Little Zion in 1981 and Rev. Marion F. Wilkerson was installed as the pastor on August 22, 1982. Under his enthusiastic, devoted and very wise leadership many accomplishments were made, with the highest, having a vision to build a new church building. Deacon Clarence Robinson was instrumental in acquiring the land from the Higginbottom and Stannard families. On Sunday, March 25, 2001, the congregation marched to the new Little Zion Baptist Church on Tomahawk Creek Road. Nine years later the church held a mortgage burning ceremony.

On May 23, 2010, Rev. Marion F. Wilkerson preached his last sermon and on June 6, 2010 Rev. Wilkerson’s first son in the ministry, Rev. John E. Reid, Sr. returned to LZBC to preach his first sermon as Pastor. He has now served as our pastor for eight years. Rev. Reid was ordained as a minister in 1994 while a member of Little Zion. He then became the first ordained son of the church, and was later called to pastor the Mount Zion Baptist Church, Advance Mills, VA.

Rev. James D. Butler (who is now deceased) was elected as our Assistant Pastor on March 20, 1999. Later, Rev. Marvin Trice and Rev. Ann Lawrence were ordained as Associate Pastors.

As we close the book on this chapter of our heritage, and as we begin the next, let each of us solemnly vow that with God’s infinite wisdom and guidance, Little Zion will remain a landmark in this community.